REAL ESTATE

TV’s long-running cartoon family to get their very own branded stores
Springfield may be home to the “The Simpsons.” But it won’t be home to the first-ever retail store dedicated to the long-running (27 years) television cartoon series.

20th Century Fox has announced that the world's first Simpsons store will open in Beijing, China, in March, followed by a second location, in Shanghai, by June.
dd’s Discounts up store count in Texas, Arizona
dd’s Discounts, a division of Ross Stores, Inc. will open a 20,000-sq.-ft. store at Parkshire Center in Wilcrest, Texas on Feb. 6. The location is 14 miles southwest of downtown Houston, at the intersection of Highway 59 and Wilcrest Drive.

The new store ups dd’s store count in Texas to 37 locations, making it the retailer’s second largest state. With the new opening, the chain will operate 175 locations in 15 states.

Westwood Financial acquires seventh southeast property

Pensacola, Fla. -- Westwood Financial Corp. announced it has acquired the Shoppes at Milestone, a fully-leased shopping center located in Pensacola, Florida. The 19,700-sq.-ft. shopping center is shadow anchored by Publix and is the firm’s seventh Florida property.
Phillips Edison appoints VP of Community Partnerships

Salt Lake City -- Phillips Edison & Company announced it has promoted Scott Adair to VP of Community Partnerships, effective immediately. Adair, who previously served as assistant director of Property Management, will remain based in Salt Lake City.

In his new role, created as a result of the company’s Innovation Labs’ ‘Community Engagement Initiative,’ Adair is responsible for cultivating new and managing existing relationships with community leaders to build goodwill and advance business objectives.
H&M’s brick-and-mortar expansion continues at torrid pace

H&M isn’t letting a challenging retail environment stand in the way of its physical expansion.

The Swedish retail powerhouse plans to open 425 stores in 2016, with a focus on expansion in the United States and China. The company will also enter several new markets this year, including New Zealand, Puerto Rico and Cyprus.

In addition, the chain will expand its e-commerce site to several markets, including Ireland, Japan, and Greece.

At the close of its fiscal year, H&M operated 3,924 stores in 61 markets.
Sears store opens in an Ace Hardware

So far this year, four Sears Hometown Stores have opened around the country. Of particular interest is the opening in Selma, California -- inside a hardware store.

On Jan. 28, California Sears Hometown Store opened inside the Nelson Ace Hardware store in Selma.
Publix-anchored retail center in suburban Atlanta trades for $13 million

Woodstock, Ga. -- Transwestern’s Southeast Investment Services Group announced it brokered the disposition of East Cherokee Village Shoppes for $13 million. New Orleans-based PMAT Cos. acquired the 128,667-sq. ft., Publix-anchored shopping center is located in Woodstock, Georgia. Transwestern VP Fred Victor and managing director Kevin Markwordt represented the private seller.
SRS Real Estate Partners hires senior VP to Houston Office

Houston -- SRS Real Estate Partners welcomes Jonathan Hicks as SVP and co-market leader in the Houston office. Hicks will lead the Houston office alongside team member, Cody Persyn.

"The addition of Jonathan to our Houston office complements our existing business immensely," said Woody McMinn, president of North American brokerage. "Cody's depth and tenure at SRS, and around the country, joined with Jonathan's market contacts and local industry involvement, are going to make a great market leader team."
Metro Commercial Negotiates Sale of Home Depot Plaza

Upper Darby, Pa. -- Metro Commercial Real Estate announced that is has negotiated the sale of the 307,000-sq.-ft. Home Depot Plaza in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.

The purchaser, a life insurance company, values the long-term nature of the anchor leases, Home Depot and Acme, and the population density of the area.
Forest City closes sale of equity interest in Barclays Center, Brooklyn Nets

Cleveland -- Forest City Realty Trust announced that its subsidiary, Nets Sports and Entertainment has completed the previously announced sale of its equity interests in both the Barclays Center arena and the Brooklyn Nets basketball team to Onexim Sports and Entertainment Holding USA. As previously disclosed, the transaction values the team at approximately $875 million and the arena at $825 million, inclusive of debt for each asset.